Can You Teach Writing? Jo-Anne Richards Believes So (Podcast)

In the interview, Richards chats about her All About Writing courses, and shares some advice. After five novels, Richards says she has “learnt slowly through her own mistakes, and from being a very deep reader”.

“Now that I’ve learnt the hard way, I wish that at the beginning I’d had some more concrete skills and techniques,” she says. “People often say ‘can you teach writing’, and I say ‘can you teach art?’

“I mean, it’s exactly the same; it’s an artistic, creative pursuit and you use your own natural talent.”

Richards says that teaching writing is about allowing people to use their own talent by teaching them literary techniques, just like artists are taught about brush strokes and perspective.